Meadowlands: Qualifying Insider and Horses to Watch 1/17/13

Horses warm up for the qualifiers as workers build the new Meadowlands grandstand.

With partly cloudy skies and the thermometer reading 42-degrees, 11 qualifiers were contested at the Meadowlands on Thursday morning. There was a very light tailwind that didn’t appear to be playing a large role.

Here are the most interesting qualifiers from this week:

MYSTICAL ESCAPADE waited very patiently along the cones before pulling at three quarters. Once on the rim she finished up willingly for second.

SHANTY IRISH cruised along on the engine and didn’t look like a mare that had made breaks in almost all her recent starts.

JEDRIK HANOVER was stuck behind bad cover when he came to the rim on the final turn. Driver Eric Carlson sent him wide and this guy swept past the field in a nice showing despite the pedestrian time.

MYSTICAL DIVA came away in the pocket, angled in the lane and was kept under a very tight hold. She would have won if let loose.

LIZ’S LIL K K went to the front and simply cruised around the track with ease. Nick Surick trainee was under wraps at the wire.

VEAL MARSALA was saved along the cones. About mid-stretch Simon Allard asked him for a bit more speed and he came up the cones with good energy to be second.

Horses to Watch

Thursday, January 10

NO LESS THAN MAGIC (SUPER BOWL) – Made up a ton of ground in the lane from a no chance spot.

Friday, January 11

THE GREEN KNIGHT (CLYDE HIRT) – was gaining late into a slow final quarter when the leaders were a bit tired. That said, he ran right into a wall of horses and should have finished higher.

SCREEN THE CALL (CLYDE HIRT) – Never saw the cones while behind cover from the get-go. He paced home steadily for second in his first start since July.

STIR ME UP (A-2) – Made a very early wide move before three quarters and flattened a bit late from an impossible spot. You have to give him credit for even getting third.

Saturday, January 12

UNRAVELED (NW3) – Closed from last to third in the lane and finished very willingly from what was an impossible spot. That was his first start for the Harder barn and he hasn’t been on the track since October; improvement likely.

GOLDEN RECEIVER (PRESIDENTIAL) – Simply cruised around the track and won as he pleased.

RECENT NEWS (C-1) – Was last and wide at the head of the lane stacked up behind weak cover. Once he straightened away in the lane, the gelding stormed home full of late pace.